


Through the Cracks

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Original Character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-08-19
Updated: 2000-08-19
Packaged: 2019-05-15 15:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14792741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: The President invites his daughter (Elizabeth) and her family to the 4th July picnic.





	1. Through the Cracks

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however. I just created her today and thought,  
hmmm, why not?  
NOTES: I don't know if this is gonna become a series or not. Depends on how  
y'all react to it. This isn't a KD story, sorry. :)  
ALSO: "Angry"and "bent" belong to Rob Thomas and Matchbox Twenty, it's not  
mine. You might recognize a few of the lines. :) I couldn't resist.

"Rade! Where are you?" Annie called as she moved through the house. Rade  
looked up and sighed. She turned up the volume on her stereo and went back to  
reading her summer reading book. Annie came to the doorway of her sister's  
room and knocked loudly. Rade responded by turning up the volume even more.  
Rob Thomas's voice touched her somehow as he sang somewhat bitter words.  
*And instead of wishing that it would get better*  
*man you're seeing that you just get angrier*  
*And it's good, that I'm not angry*  
*I just need to get over*  
*I'm not angry, anymore*  
"Rade, are you packing? Mom wants to know if you're packing." Annie  
called. Rade sighed and moved to open the door before going back to her bed  
and opening the book of essays. "Okay, that's obviously a no." Annie  
exclaimed as she looked around her sister's messy room. "Rade, you have to  
pack. We're gonna be there for four days and your clothes already stink."  
"Thanks a lot, little sister, but I'm not going." Rade replied as she sat  
up and looked at her 12-year-old sister.  
"Not going? What do you mean you're not going?" Annie asked.  
"They're not gonna care whether I'm there or not. They never do. I'm just  
the invisible granddaughter. Even if they ever do notice me, it's to yell at  
me or tell me what I'm doing wrong." Rade lamented as she placed her bookmark  
in the right place and gave her attention to the young girl in front of her.  
"Well, 'changing' your name to Rade didn't really help things. Granddad  
loved your name before and then out of nowhere *Rade*??" Annie pointed out.  
Rade chuckled and shrugged.  
"I liked my other name too, but it wasn't *my* name. It didn't fit me. It  
didn't feel right. Hell, half the time I didn't respond to it, and that was  
never on purpose. I'm just not a Mary." Rade exclaimed as she picked at her  
toenails.  
"I know. I like Rade. No one else does, but I do." Annie quipped.  
"Haha." Rade retorted.  
"Do mom and dad know you're not coming?"  
"They will soon enough, I guess."  
"You really should come. I mean, come on, a July 4th picnic at the White  
House. Granddad is the President of the United States You can't pass this  
up. Imagine what the press would say." Annie said with a grin. Rade laughed.  
"They probably wouldn't notice. The only person who has ever really acted  
like they cared about me is you, Annie, and I know you're gonna be busy  
there. God knows, it's frustrating to love your little sister. Mom won't let  
me ask Jake to come so what am I going to do there all alone?" Rade pointed  
out, thinking of her best friend with a sigh. "I'll just stay home. Eddie can  
watch me, make sure I don't get into trouble, like he always does and no one  
else. No one will miss me, I promise you." Rade exclaimed.  
"Annie! Rade!" Elizabeth's voice exclaimed as she moved up the stairs  
towards the open door. She smirked at the Star Trek poster on the door and  
moved beyond it to look around the messy 16-year-olds room. There were  
posters of Matchbox Twenty, Savage Garden, The Twilight Zone, all kinds of  
Star Trek and a few other various things that Rade loved, including her most  
prized poster, a copy of the one Fox Mulder had in his office that read "I  
want to Believe" in a frame of sorts. Rade's bed consisted of a mattress on  
the floor, per her insistence and the rest of the room was shrouded with full  
bookshelves, movies, her built-in desk, a ladder to the small loft above them  
and her entertainment system which Rade had saved a lot of money from her job  
to afford. But Elizabeth saw none of these things right now. Now, all she saw  
was Rade's empty suitcase.  
"Mary Radell Bartlet Knox, what the devil is going on? Why aren't you  
packed???" Liz snapped. Rade rolled her eyes.  
"Mom, nobody's gonna care if I'm there or not. Why should I bother?  
Granddad hates me. Grandma hates me. You hate me. No one ever lets me talk to  
anyone, even though Annie gets to talk to whoever she wants to. I don't want  
to go." She said in almost whine.  
"Mary, plase don't do this to me. Please, just pack your bag and come  
with us. I know you hate these things, but granddad and grandma do *not* hate  
you and neither do I. I promise, when we get back, I'll take you to Borders  
or something and you can get a whole onslaught of new books to read, but  
please, don't ruin this weekend for us." Liz pleaded. Rade sighed and nodded.  
Her mother won. Her mother always won. It stunk, but it was true. Rade got to  
her feet and started tossing clothes into her bag. "Thank you, sweetie, and  
don't forget something dressy."  
"Yeah, I know." Rade replied with a weak smile.

*********************  
"Margaret!!!" Leo screeched. Margaret winced and grabbed a few files  
before hurrying into her boss's office.  
"Where do you learn to scream like that?" She asked honestly. Leo peered  
at her and then shook his head.  
"Where's the report on 408?" He asked. "You said you put it on my desk."  
He added looking around.  
"Leo, will you relax? I heard you all the way from Mrs. Landingham's  
desk." Jed Bartlet exclaimed as he walked into his best friend's office. Leo  
looked up and then scoffed. "Besides, it's right under your elbow. Margaret,  
I apologize for him. Go on back to what you were doing."  
"Thank you, sir." Margaret replied and went back to her own desk.  
"Why are you so grumpy, Leo? Come on. Liz is coming in at four with the  
kids and Jerry. We're having a family reunion. It's gonna be a good holiday.  
What's wrong with you?" Jed asked as he took a seat in an armchair.  
"Sir, with all due respect, I don't think I'll be coming to the picnic or  
the dinner." Leo admitted finally. Jed frowned almost angrily.  
"What do you mean you're not coming? Why not?" He asked.  
"I'm fairly positive your wife asked Jenny to come and I don't know if--"  
Leo started but was interrupted.  
"You can't run away from her. She's still your daughter's mother and  
Mallory's going to be there. Besides, there will be so many other people  
there, you'll never have to talk to her if you don't want to." Jed paused to  
study the look on his friend's face. "Come on, Leo, come. If I can force  
Josh, Toby, Sam and CJ to come, I can certainly force you." He added with a  
playful grin.  
"Sir, I would appreciate it if you didn't." Leo said softly. Jed frowned  
and looked at the floor.  
"All right. Fine. I guess you're used to running away and spending your  
holidays alone." He murmured. Leo sighed. "Sounds all too familiar though."  
Jed added as he got to his feet.  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Leo snapped.  
"Oh, come on, Leo. This is exactly the way you acted when you were on the  
booze. Have you fallen off the wagon?" Jed exclaimed.  
"No!" Leo retorted in horror.  
"Then come to the damn party, Leo." Jed insisted.  
"Fine, I'll come to the stupid party." Leo retorted.  
"Good!" Jed exclaimed with a grin. "Now, you wanna come with me and Abbey  
to the airport to meet Liz and the kids?" Leo glared at him. "Guess not. I'll  
see ya later, Leo." The President exclaimed before walking out of the room  
with a grin on his face. Leo sighed and sank back into the chair.

***************************  
"I don't see why I have to do this." Toby muttered as he tapped his  
pencil against his desk. Sam shrugged.  
"We all have to. It's a fourth of July party, so what? We're White House  
staffers and we should be expected to join in the celebration of the  
anniversary of our country's independence." The younger man replied as he  
read a draft of a speech that the President would be delivering at the July  
4th banquet.  
"Yeah, but why should I? I can celebrate fourth of July at home in the  
nice company of a bottle of beer, a good cigar and a cap gun. Better yet a  
real one and I can keep the drunks off my lawn." Toby added in a soft murmur.  
Sam rolled his eyes and turned a page.  
"You don't have a lawn, Toby." Sam pointed out as he read.  
"Fine, I'll keep them off the White House lawn." Toby retorted.  
"You have to be at the White House to do that, so you may as well come to  
the party." Sam replied.  
"No, just give me a hi-definition laser scope and I'll pick them off from  
the roof of my building." Toby assured him.  
"That'll be a great headline for the next day: White House Staffer  
Massacres Independence Day Drunks." Sam envisioned aloud. Toby grinned  
happily.  
"I actually like the sound of that." He snorted.  
"Just when I thought you couldn't get any worse." Sam muttered.  
"And I know exactly who's going to be first." Toby said in a soft growl.  
Sam looked at his boss with a sheepish smile.  
"Uh . . the reporters?" He joked. Toby glared at him and then looked back  
at his work.  
"What are you doing in my office anyway?" Toby asked after a pause.  
"My office is being cleaned." Sam admitted.  
"Finally. That place is a pigsty." Toby muttered.  
"Hey!" Sam protested softly. Toby snickered. "Look who's talking." Sam  
said suddenly. Toby scoffed and continued working.

**********************************  
Rade stared out the window and watched the clouds hiss by. She didn't  
like trips. Music blared in her ears as she ignored the sounds of her parents  
somewhere in front of her talking about what they were going to when the  
plane landed. Rade was tired of just being another thing to deal with around  
the house. She never felt like anything else. She turned up the volume again  
on her walkman and just lost herself in the clouds.  
*It shouldn't be so complicated*  
*Just hold me and then*  
*Just hold me again*  
*Can you help me, I'm bent*  
*I'm scared that I'll never*  
*Get put back together*  
*Keep breaking me in*  
*And this is how we will end*  
*With you and me bent*  
"Excuse me, miss?" A sweet young voice asked. Rade slipped off the  
headphones and hit pause to glance at a young flight attendant who was  
smiling sweetly. "You're going to have to turn off your walkman while we  
land." Rade stared at the attendant incredulously.  
"Why?" She asked.  
"Because it interferes with our navigation system." The flight attendant  
replied.  
"Do you realize how stupid it sounds when you people say that?" Rade  
asked with a raised eyebrow. The flight attendant frowned, suddenly losing  
patience with the teenager.  
"All the same, miss, you have to turn it off." She insisted.  
"This thing is a Lockheed eagle series L-1011. It came off the line 23  
months ago and carries a Sim-5 Transponder tracking system." Rade exclaimed  
harshly. "Are you actually trying to tell me I can still throw this thing off  
course with Rob Thomas and something I got at Radio Shack?"  
"Rade, turn it off!" Her father snapped. Rade shut the walkman down,  
glared at the flight attendant and put the CD away. She put her stuff into  
her backpack and pulled out her book.  
"No respect anymore." She muttered.

TBC... .  
Feedback? Comments? Please?

~D.C.  
Batman

  

  


	2. Through the Cracks 2

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however. I just created her today and thought,  
hmmm, why not?  
NOTES: I don't know if this is gonna become a series or not. Depends on how  
y'all react to it. This isn't a KD story, sorry. :)  
ALSO: "It's My Life" is by Bon Jovi, and it's not mine.  


"Grandpa!!!" Annie exclaimed as she ran into the hug the leader of the  
free world had waiting for her. Abbey Bartlet laughed and moved to hug her  
daughter hello. Eric Knox shook hands with his father-in-law and then looked  
back as his oldest daughter slipped on her sunglasses and trudged down the  
stairs. Rade slipped her black backpack over her shoulder and looked at her  
grandfather talking playfully with her little sister. She smiled at her  
grandmother and hugged her hello.  
"Rade, you've gotten so big." Abbey cooed. Rade tried to hide her disgust  
and smiled weakly.  
"I try my best. You're looking good." She said honestly. Abbey smiled and  
sighed. It always felt like such a challenge with Rade.  
"Thank you. You too. You ready to have fun at the picnic?" She asked.  
Rade shrugged, trying to decide whether or not to be honest or to be  
compliant.  
"Yeah, I think we're gonna have a really good time." She said with a weak  
smile. Abbey nodded and led the way to the limo. The family talked amongst  
themselves about Annie's grades, Jed's job, Eric's job, Abbey's campaign  
against child labor and Liz's job. Lots of job talk. Rade sat in the corner  
and stared out the window, not being allowed to participate. She didn't want  
to anyway. She had nothing to say. She just watched the other cars and the  
buildings roll by.

**********************  
"So who's the one I haven't met?" Josh asked as he flipped through the  
opposition brief on 408. Donna sighed and looked at her notepad.  
"Mary, the sixteen-year-old. She likes to be called Rade." She replied as  
she stood in front of her boss.  
"Where did she get Rade from?" He asked, looking at his assitant.  
"Her middle name is Radell, which is her father's middle name." Donna  
replied quickly. Josh nodded and looked back at the report.  
"Where was she during the campaign?" He asked. "Why haven't we met her?"  
"She was at an... academy." Donna said uncertainly. Josh looked at her.  
"The president's granddaughter went to a military school?" He asked  
sharply. Donna hesitated.  
"No, she went to an academy for 14 months. She was released from the  
school because she had straight A's and the adminstrators didn't think she  
belonged there." Donna exclaimed as she read the notepad.  
"God, it's like you have her biography on that thing. Let me see." Josh  
asked playfully as he tried to peer at the notepad.  
"Josh." Donna protested with a smile. He grinned and backed off  
innocently.  
"When do they get here?" He asked.  
"Any minute now." She replied. He nodded and looked at her.  
"You gonna come to the picnic and dinner thingies?" He asked.  
"Yeah, I thought I might, since I got an invitation." She replied slyly.  
"Good." Josh replied with a smile.  
"I'll just have to make a few choices as to who my date's gonna be." She  
added before moving out of the room. Josh's jaw dropped open.  
"But..." He started. She leaned her head in the doorway.  
"Yes, Josh?" She asked playfully. He grinned and shook his head.  
"Never mind." He said softly. Donna raised an eyebrow and went back to  
her desk.

**********************************  
"I still don't see why this section is relevant to anything else on the  
page." Toby argued as he and Sam carried the speech to the Oval office. Sam  
sighed and rubbed his temples carefully.  
"Because it talks about the import-" He started.  
"The invention of a barbecue, Sam? That's got nothing to do with July the  
4th." Toby interrupted as they stopped in front of Mrs. Landingham's desk.  
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Landingham. Is he in?"  
"Yes, he's in there with his daughter and her family. I'm sure you can go  
right on in." Mrs. L replied. Toby and Sam smiled and nodded before moving  
into the Oval office. As they walked in, they found the President with his  
wife on one couch, a young woman who looked remarkably alike to the first  
lady and a man on the other couch while a young girl sat in the President's  
chair and a teenager studied the bookshelf.  
"Toby! Sam! You remember my daughter and her husband?" Jed exclaimed as  
he got to his feet. Toby nodded and smiled weakly to the sitting visitors.  
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Knox. Mrs. Knox." He said politely. Sam  
nodded.  
"Pleasure." He added.  
"Mr. Ziegler. Mr. Seaborn. You both look... perplexed." Liz commented.  
Rade glanced over at the newcomers and then back to the books before moving  
over to her sister and giving her a little spin in the chair.  
"Hey, don't break the chair." Jed exclaimed. Rade smiled innocently. "You  
of course remember my granddaughter Annie and this is my other granddaughter  
Mar . . Rade." Jed corrected himself with a smirk. Rade smiled weakly at him  
and then nodded at Sam and Toby.  
"Hi. Nice to meet you." She said softly.  
"Toby Ziegler. Nice to meet you, miss."  
"Sam Seaborn. Pleasure." Rade smiled and then leaned to Annie.  
"They always sound like broken records?" She whispered. Annie giggled and  
smiled innocently at the adults.  
"Sir, we just dropped by to go over the banquet speech with you, but if  
you're busy, we can do it another time." Toby said slowly. "I could use some  
time to fix a few things." He added, receiving a dark glare from Sam.  
"How long do you think it will take?" Jed asked.  
"To fix or to go over?" Toby replied. Sam looked at his feet. Rade  
chuckled and fished through her bag for her book. Jed glanced at her and then  
back at his speech writers.  
"Tell you what, Toby. Take it back to your office. Make it perfect and  
then bother me, okay?" He said with a grin. Toby nodded and moved with Sam  
back out of the room. Jed sat back down and looked to his daughter. "Now,  
where were we?" He said with a smile.  
"Granddad, can I go to the residence and take a nap? I'm kinda tired."  
Rade exclaimed. Jed looked at her.  
"You know how to get there?" He asked.  
"Doesn't everybody?" Rade said with a grin.  
"Granddad, can I sleep in the Lincoln bedroom?" Annie asked randomly. The  
adults chuckled. Rade smirked.  
"You don't even know why it's famous." She exclaimed.  
"I do too. Abe Lincoln slept there." Annie replied.  
"Among other things." Rade murmured. She smiled weakly at the adults who  
were giving her dark looks. Jed chuckled.  
"Get out of here." He said playfully.  
"What about me?" Annie whined.  
"Zoey's gonna get here in about five minutes and she's gonna take you  
wherever you want." Abbey interjected. Annie grinned and begin to hop up and  
down in the chair.  
"Don't break the chair." Eric called.  
"Bye, bye." Rade said and moved out of the room. She grumbled to find a  
secret service agent following her. She carried her stuff to the room she'd  
been given and dropped it there. She popped in another CD and turned it on,  
listening to the sounds of rock bursting through her eardrums.  
*This ain't a song for the broken-hearted*  
*Ain't no prayer for the faith-departed*  
*Well, I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd*  
*You're gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud*  
*It's my life, it's now or never*  
*I ain't gonna live forever*  
*I just wanna live my life while I'm alive (it's my life)*  
*My heart is like an open highway*  
*Like Frankie said, I did it my way*  
*I just wanna live my life while I'm alive*  
*It's my life*

Rade sighed and switched it off. She tossed the CD player away and moved  
for the door. The secret service agent looked at her abruptly. "I want to go  
for a walk. Is that allowed?" She asked. He nodded and talked into his mike.  
"Captain is going for a walk." He murmured into it. She looked at him  
with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.  
"Nice name." She muttered and started down the hall, glancing at the  
walls around her. She was never into politics and the White House had always  
symbolized to her something that kept everyone's thoughts on image and not  
reality. But she was interested in the history of the monument. She walked  
down the stairs and noticed a hustle to the left. She moved over to a doorway  
and saw CJ Cregg moving to a podium.  
"If you'll take your seats please, we can get started. Item one, tomorrow  
at noon, the President will be holding a picnic for his family and assorted  
White House staff members. It will continue until three, assuming it doesn't  
run over time which it probably will." She said. The press chuckled. "The  
President's daughter and her family flew in to join the party. There will  
also be a dinner starting at seven that evening in which the politicians will  
join the party and the President will give a short speech before dinner.  
Jack."  
"About the President's daughter, who's with her? Just to doublecheck."  
The young reporter asked.  
"Elizabeth Bartlet Knox came with her husband Eric Knox and her two  
daughters Mary Radell Knox and Annie Abigail Knox. Chris." CJ called.  
"Is it true that the older daughter spent fourteen months in a military  
school?" A woman asked loudly. Rade winced and looked at CJ only to find the  
woman meeting her gaze. She gulped and smiled.  
"It is true that Rade Knox attended Prescott Academy for a period of  
fourteen months, but the school contacted her parents to notify them that she  
was not in need of their services and released her with a 4.2 GPA." CJ  
replied, looking back at the reporter. Danny Concannon followed her glance  
and saw Rade standing in the doorway.  
"Item two, the White house is sending resolution bill 408 to the floor on  
Friday, I'm sure we're all very interested in that. Other than that the lid  
is on. Any more questions?" CJ exclaimed. "No? Good. Get out of here." She  
exclaimed immediately heading for Rade who decided that it might be a good  
idea to hightail it away from CJ. She turned and moved out of the room, her  
agent behind her.  
"Rade!" A male voice called. She stopped and looked back as a red-headed  
man, kind of chubby but not by much, trotted up to her. "Hi. You touring the  
white house?" He asked.  
"You're a reporter, right? I saw you sitting in the chairs." Rade pointed  
out. Danny nodded and held out his hand.  
"Danny Concannon." He offered. She shook the hand with a weak smile.  
"Rade Knox." She murmured. Reporters never wanted to talk to her, so she  
wondered what this guy wanted.  
"Danny, what are you doing?" CJ asked as she walked up to them.  
"I'm talking to someone. You know not everyone is as reluctant to talk to  
me as you are, CJ." Danny teased. Rade smirked and then got a look from CJ.  
"You must be CJ Cregg. Hi." She said weakly.  
"I wasn't aware you were coming to watch our conference today, Miss  
Knox." CJ exclaimed. Rade shrugged.  
"I wasn't planning on it. I was exploring the White House. I figured the  
place has got a lot of history, might be worth a walk." She said honestly.  
"Harmless." Danny volunteered. CJ looked at him.  
"Don't you have something to do? Go write something." She exclaimed  
before taking a gentle hold of Rade's arm and escorting her off. Rade frowned  
and shook away from CJ once there were out of sight.  
"I don't like being touched." Rade exclaimed softly. "I didn't do  
anything wrong. I wouldn't have said anything damaging." She added.  
"You don't talk to the press until after you clear it with me." CJ said  
softly but sternly.  
"I said hi and my name, and by the way, it's nice to meet you too." Rade  
added sharply. CJ stopped and looked at the young woman.  
"Point taken. I apologize." CJ said softly and smiled. "CJ Cregg." She  
offered her hand. Rade looked at it and then shook it.  
"Mary Radell Bartlet Knox." She said with a grin. "But you can call me  
Rade. In fact, I'd prefer it." She said kindly.  
"Then Rade it is. I'm sorry about that. You just surprised me and I knew  
that at least one reporter was gonna come to you. We're lucky it was Danny."  
CJ exclaimed. Rade nodded.  
"Why, cause he's your boyfriend?" She asked. CJ stared at the teenager in  
shock.  
"No, where'd you get that from?" She asked.  
"Sorry. I just saw you two and, I dunno, it fit." Rade admitted. "My  
mistake."  
"I'll say." CJ muttered. "Well, since you were exploring, how about I  
show you around the West Wing? You can meet the people who work for your  
grandfather." She suggested. Rade nodded with a weak grin.  
"Sounds cool. But technically, doesn't everybody here work for granddad?"  
She pointed out. CJ laughed and led the way towards her bullpen.  
"I wouldn't put it quite that way." She replied.  
"I would." Rade said with a grin.

TBC... .  
Feedback, pwease!! Comments? There's more in my mind . . Give me time, but  
give me feedback, please!

~D.C.  
Batman

  


	3. Through the Cracks 3

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however. I just created her today and thought,  
hmmm, why not?  
NOTES: I don't know if this is gonna become a series or not. Depends on how  
y'all react to it.  
ALSO: "Reflection" is from the movie "Mulan" and property of Disney. It's  
also part of Christina Aguilera's "legacy"

  
"Toby, it's fine! They'll love hearing about the --" Sam started.  
"It's a barbecue, Sam. They're not gonna enjoy sitting at a table for  
twenty minutes, waiting hungrily for their food while the President drones on  
and on about the invention of the barbecue." Toby interrupted.  
"Fine, we'll drop that, but what are you going to fill the space with?"  
Sam asked. Toby sighed.  
"We won't fill it. Cut the speech short and let people go home early. How  
about that?" Toby suggested dryly. Sam shook his head.  
"Fireworks at ten. We have this whole schedule and the speech has to keep  
in time with it." He snapped.  
"Are you snapping at me, Sam?" Toby growled.  
"Yes, Toby, I'm snapping at you."  
"Don't snap at me, Sam."  
"Fine. Okay. You snap at me all you want to and I'll just sit here  
quietly." Sam retorted.  
"Good. Perfect." Toby returned and sat down at his desk. Sam sighed and  
rolled his head back against the couch.

****************************  
"Carol?" CJ exclaimed as she came back from her phone conversation. Her  
assistant looked up and nodded. "Where'd Rade go?" She asked as she looked  
around the empty hallway.  
"She had to go to the restroom." Carol replied. "Greg showed her the  
way." CJ nodded and moved back into her office. Down the hall, Josh sat in  
his office and hummed. He groaned and got up. He moved out into the hallway  
to scream for Donna when he ran into someone. He fell back into the door  
frame and then looked at the teenager who was sprawled out on the floor and  
getting to her feet. She had short ragged dark brown hair and was wearing  
khakis, a white t-shirt and a black overshirt.  
"Ow. Watch where you're going." She muttered as she stood up and brushed  
herself off. He was staring at her blankly, trying to remember when this  
stranger had been hired. "Hello? Did you hit your head?"  
"Sorry. Sorry. Um, who are you?" Josh asked. Rade sighed.  
"Rade Knox." She exclaimed, offering her hand.  
"Are you okay? Josh really tackled you there." Donna exclaimed as she  
walked up to them. Rade looked at her.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Who are you guys?" She asked.  
"This is our Deputy Chief of Staff Joshua Lyman and his assistant  
Donatella Moss." CJ exclaimed as she came up behind him. "Rade, you  
disappeared on me." She said with a smile.  
"I'm good at disappearing. Thickneck back there says my parents are  
looking for me." The teenager replied, jerking her head back at the secret  
service agent who was following her. "I told him to say I have no intention  
of returning. The wonderful thing about secret service agents is that as long  
as there's no imminent danger, they have to do what you want to do."  
"*You're* the President's granddaughter?" Josh asked as he looked the  
girl over. Rade raised an eyebrow and frowned.  
"Yes. Not all Bartlets are hunky-dorey goody-two-shoes, Mr. Lyman. Tell  
me, he don't have any real control around here, does he?" Rade asked Donna.  
Donna chuckled and nodded.  
"Unfortunately, yes." CJ added.  
"Scary thought." Rade murmured. CJ and Donna chuckled.  
"I'm starting to resent this conversation." Josh murmured.  
"Funny, I thought you would have started to a long time ago." Rade  
admitted. Josh smirked.  
"Cute." He murmured.  
"I've never heard that before." Rade admitted. "CJ, you mind if I break  
apart from your company? There's so much more to see, and I know you have to  
work."  
"Okay, as long as you keep out of trouble." CJ warned.  
"I'm not as bad as you might have heard." Rade murmured and then looked  
at Donna and then at Josh. "Hmm. Weird. This place is full of those vibes."  
"Vibes?" Josh repeated.  
"Yeah, I'm getting the same feeling from you two as I got from CJ and  
that fat reporter. Weird. Bye all." Rade said before disappearing down a  
hallway. Donna and Josh looked at each other and then at CJ.  
"She means Danny." CJ exclaimed. "He's not fat, is he?"  
"No." Donna assured her.  
"She got a vibe?" Josh asked.  
"Apparently so." CJ said with a grin. "But everyone else does too." She  
added before going back to her office. Josh looked at Donna only to meet her  
eyes.  
"Okay. I'm going back to work now." He exclaimed before going back into  
his office. Donna smiled weakly and went back to her desk.

*******************************  
"What do you mean, she won't come?" Eric asked the secret service agent.  
"Sir, your daughter's agent says that she wishes to explore the White  
House and does not plan on returning." Came the reply. Eric growled and  
kicked a chair in the room.  
"Killing the furniture won't help us." Liz called as she looked around  
the room. She picked up a CD that Rade had created with her CD burner. She  
looked down the list at the titles and sighed. She moved to a stereo that was  
in the room and put it in before pressing a few keys. Eric looked at his wife  
and listened to the words that came from the black box.  
*Look at me, you may think you see*  
*who I really am*  
*But you'll never know me*  
*Every day it's as if I play a part*  
*Now I see, if I wear a mask*  
*I can fool the world, but I cannot fool my heart*

"Do we really know her, Eric?" Liz wondered softly. Eric moved to his  
wife and took her in his arms.  
"She never lets us in." He said softly.  
"When's the last time we tried?" Liz returned. Eric sighed and realized  
she was right. He held her tighter and just listened to the words.

TBC... .  
Feedback? Comments? Please? more soon. :)

~D.C.  
Batman

  


	4. Through the Cracks 4

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however.  
NOTES: I still don't know if this is gonna become a series or not. Depends on  
how  
y'all react to it.  
ALSO: "To the moon and Back" is a song of Savage Garden and it is not mine.

"Mrs. Landingham, am I doing anything now?" Jed called as he finished  
signing the reports that Nancy was handing him. "What was that?" He asked as  
she walked away.  
"Nothing important, sir." Nancy assured him.  
"I'm President of the United States. Isn't it all important?" He asked  
playfully.  
"No, sir. This was just a declaration of war on Maui." Nancy replied just  
as playfully as she stepped out of the room.  
"I gotta flaunt my title to get some answers around here." Jed said with  
a smirk. "Mrs. Landingham--" He started again but stopped as the elderly  
woman appeared in his doorway.  
"You are free for the next hour, Mr. President. I managed to keep your  
schedule light while your family is in town." She assured him as she brought  
him another report to sign. He nodded, signed in and took off for the door  
faster than a freshman on the last day of high school. Mrs. Landingham smiled  
and went back to her desk. "Charlie, your boss has left the building. Go take  
a break or something." She said to the President's aide as she sat down.  
Charlie looked up and and smiled brightly. "Get out of here, Charlie." She  
encouraged.  
"If you say so, ma'am." Charlie replied as he got up, grabbed his jacket  
and then headed for the hallway in a much more leisured pace than the  
President had. He walked for a bit until he reached the stairs up to the  
residence level. He followed them up only to get tackled by a four foot nine  
inch tall girl.  
"Annie! Oh, my God, Charlie are you all right?" Zoey asked as she ran up  
to her boyfriend who was on the floor with a girl on top of him. Annie smiled  
at him and got up with a sheepish grin.  
"Yeah, I'm okay." He assured them as he also got to his feet. Zoey was  
struggling to contain her laughter as she moved to hug Charlie hello. "This  
must be your niece." He exclaimed.  
"Annie Knox, my sister's daughter, yes. Charlie, this is Annie. Annie,  
this is Charlie." Zoey introduced.  
"Your boyfriend." Annie stated. Zoey chuckled as Charlie definitely  
blushed a little.  
"Yes, this is my boyfriend." She replied. "But you knew that. Didn't I  
tell you not to go running down the halls? There are a lot of people in this  
building. You could have seriously hurt someone."  
"Not him though. He's fine." Annie pointed out, gesturing to Charlie.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. What were you two girls doing?" He asked as he  
unconsciously put an arm around Zoey's waist. Zoey smiled and shrugged.  
"We were just about to go check out the preparations for the picnic  
tomorrow. Annie wants to see the bandstand." She explained. "Want to come  
with us? I promise I won't let her tackle you again."  
"Well, now that I'm on guard, I don't think she'll be able to." Charlie  
retorted playfully. Zoey giggled and nodded.  
"Okay. Let's go." Annie exclaimed happily and moved off to lead the way.  
"You have to go downstairs first." Charlie pointed out as he gestured to  
the stairs. Annie grinned sheepishly again and moved for the stairs, her aunt  
and tackling dummy right behind her.

********************************  
"Toby, will you stop ranting for ten minutes? Please? I'm getting a  
headache and I'm resenting the hell out of your attitude." Sam exclaimed.  
"I'm sorry about the barbecue thing, okay? Move past it. What are we going to  
replace it with?" He said slowly. Toby sighed and nodded.  
"You're right. Okay. Moving past it." He replied.  
"You know, an apology would be nice." Sam said.  
"Don't push your luck." Toby retorted.  
"Fair enough." Sam replied with a sigh as he settled into Toby's couch.  
"Okay, we have him start off talking about fourth of July, there's a lot of  
history in this thing. He mentions his great-great-whatever, Dr. Josiah  
Bartlet, signer of the declaration of Independence and the revolutionary war  
and what July 4th means to him and this country. Then what? We have to fill  
some time here, if only five minutes."  
"For our precious schedule." Toby muttered as he grabbed a pen and  
started scratching out the already mutilated four paragraphs about the  
invention of the BBQ. Sam didn't *have* that information right.  
"Yes, for our precious schedule." Sam repeated slowly. He was losing his  
patience with his boss. Sam felt that he himself was a nice guy, with lots of  
patience and understanding, but Toby was really beating him up over this and  
he was tired of it. He just wanted to finish the damn thing and then take a  
nap. He knew that if he took a nap, he'd wake up fresh and happy and ready to  
take whatever Toby could give him.  
"Why don't you have him talk about his family?" A voice suggested. Toby  
and Sam looked to the door to see the teenager from the Oval office earlier  
that morning leaning against the doorframe. "You have him talk about  
great-great-whatever, but he's got his daughters and granddaughters right  
next to him. He can blab about family values and the true nature of holidays,  
or whatever." Rade continued. Toby and Sam looked at each other and than back  
at her.  
"What are you doing here?" Toby asked.  
"Nice to see you too. Ziegler, right?" Rade retorted. "Look, it was just  
a suggestion." She added before looking out into the hall. "Ooh, doughnuts."  
She added and then moved away. Sam looked at Toby.  
"Worth a shot." Toby muttered and grabbed his laptop, pulling it closer.  
"It's gonna be great when word gets around we got writing advice from a  
sixteen year old." Sam muttered.  
"I didn't realize you cared so much about image, Mr.  
I'm-Gonna-Reform-A-Call-Girl. Go back to your office. You're annoying me.  
Work on the press release for 408." Toby ordered. Sam sighed, got to his feet  
and returned to his office. He closed the door and collapsed on the couch for  
his nap. Toby started typing, and started to really get into what he was  
writing. Rade paused by his doorway with a glazed doughnut and watched him  
for a second. She moved on just as he looked up, causing him to raise an  
eyebrow before going back to work.

*************************  
Leo sighed and tossed the brief away from him. It was going on six  
o'clock and he was more than ready to go home. He stood and walked to his  
coat rack to get his jacket when he noticed the President standing in the  
doorway between his office and the Oval. He nodded to his boss before putting  
on his jacket and returning to his desk to grab his briefcase and fill it up.  
"I know you're coming tomorrow." Jed said softly.  
"I told you I am." Leo replied.  
"I'm sorry, Leo. I was wrong. I shouldn't have accused you like that."  
Jed exclaimed. Leo looked at him and nodded.  
"You were concerned. I appreciate that." He replied softly.  
"I do trust you, Leo. With my life and everything else." Jed said after a  
pause. Leo smiled and nodded a third time.  
"I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. President." He assured his friend before  
moving out the door.  
"Tomorrow, Leo." Jed replied before moving out into the hallway and  
moving towards the residence. He trotted up the stairs and headed for his  
room, hoping to find his wife there. He did find her there, rummaging through  
the papers on the desk in their room. He moved into the room slowly and  
silently, endeavoring to sneak up on her.  
"Do you know what I did with the envelope that I was going to give to  
Rade?" Abbey asked without looking up.  
"How do you do that?" He exclaimed before giving up on the stealth  
mission to slip his arms around his wife and plant a kiss in her neck. She  
smiled and leaned back against him.  
"I'm psychic. Do you know where it is?" She asked again before leaning  
forward and rifling around the papers some more.  
"Check the drawers." He replied before moving to sit on the bed. "What  
kind of name is Rade anyway?" He asked suddenly.  
"Don't you start that again. Listen, Jed, she likes the name and a lot of  
people had a hard enough time getting her to respond to Mary. It was like her  
brain wouldn't accept the name or something." Abbey replied as she opened a  
drawer and pulled out the evasive envelope.  
"Mary is a very nice name." Jed pointed out.  
"You know, she agrees." Abbey returned as she faced him. "But I think she  
told me once that she had 'reservations about being named after the virgin  
mother'. Teenagers have a lot of questions about life and religion and  
identity, and I think this her way of trying to answer her own questions."  
She said in the absent girl's defense. Jed sighed and nodded.  
"Yeah, I guess so. I barely remember what being a teenager is like, but I  
do remember." He muttered.  
"I just wish it wasn't so hard to get through to her." Abbey admitted.  
"She always seems so stiff around us, as if she's nervous or uneasy."  
"I think she's uneasy around everyone." Jed pointed out.  
"Maybe. Liz says that she's pretty loose with this guy named Jake  
Martin."  
"Well, where is he?"  
"Eric didn't want to invite him. Apparently he thinks that Rade needs to  
interact with other people for a change."  
"Did it occur to him that she'd never do that willingly?" Jed asked  
dryly. Abbey chuckled and moved to sit next to him on the bed.  
"I think we just have to be patient. She'll find a way to be everything  
she needs to be and we'll find a way to accept her as she is." She said  
softly.  
"And if she becomes a mass murderer, will we support that? I suppose I  
could always stay her execution, as long as she does it while I'm president."  
Jed muttered. Abbey slapped him playfully on the shoulder.  
"Jed! She's not going to kill anyone. She's not violent." Abbey added  
softly. Jed slipped an arm around his wife and kissed her forehead.  
"I know. I just worry sometimes. As for her not being violent, have you  
forgotten about that Benjamin kid? He's the reason they sent her to Prescott  
in the first place." Jed pointed out.  
"She's changed since then, and neither Rade nor John Benjamin have  
revealed the true circumstances of what happened that day, so we can't jump  
to conclusions." Abbey retorted.  
"All I know is that he had a few dozen injuries and so did she. I'm just  
happy the press has found out about that yet. It's one of those things that's  
hard to keep a secret." He muttered.  
"Rade's past is worth more than your political career, isn't it, Jed? The  
press can't report anything without having all the facts, and no one has all  
the facts except Rade and JB." Abbey retorted.  
"Okay, okay, okay." Jed relented.  
"Just give her a break. She's a troubled kid and she needs us there for  
her." Abbey whispered as she leaned into him. Jed held her close and nodded.  
"Yeah, okay." He whispered before looking into her eyes and kissing her  
passionately. She chuckled through the kiss as he leaned her down against the  
bed and began to kiss her neck.  
"Jed, it's almost time for dinner." She murmured.  
"I got ten minutes." He replied softly before grasping her lips in his  
own.

*************************  
Eric Knox closed the book and sighed. His wife was taking a short nap  
before dinner, so he'd decided to try and get some reading done before he  
went back to the University on Friday. He hated having to assign reading to  
his students when he hadn't already done it himself. He squinted a little as  
he heard familiar music drift through the walls. Rade must have gotten back.  
He got to his feet and headed for her room.  
*She's taking her time*  
*Making up the reasons*  
*To justify all the hurt inside*  
*Guess she knows*  
*From the smiles*  
*And the look in their eyes*  
*Everyone's got a feeling bout the bitter one*

Eric stopped as he saw Rade on her bed, staring at the wall with a blank,  
almost somber look on her face. He crossed the room and switched off the  
stereo, immediately getting his daughter's attention.  
"Dad, I was listening to that." She said softly as she sat up and leaned  
against the wall. He nodded.  
"I assumed as such, as most people are listening to music when they play  
it, but I need to talk to you." He replied. "Why didn't you come when I asked  
you too?" He asked slowly.  
"Because I wanted to see the White House and you didn't specify that  
anything important was happening that required my presence." Rade replied  
honestly as she watched her father from a short distance.  
"We're going to be here three more days. You have plenty of time to see  
the White House. In the meantime, I expect you to be obedient." Eric replied  
softly but sharply.  
"I may be your daughter, but I'm not your slave. We're gonna stay here  
three more days, but I'm gonna be your daughter for sixty more years or the  
like. You don't mind if I choose my priorities accordingly." She retorted.  
"Don't get smart with me, young lady. You will not embarrass me during  
this visit." Eric exclaimed, almost snapping.  
"And what about you embarrassing me??" Rade retorted as she got to her  
feet. "Why is it that I'm always the one who gets yelled at? I wanted to see  
the White House. You wanted me to come along so that you could criticize me.  
I'm sorry if I don't meet your standards."  
"Watch it, Mary." Eric exclaimed as he got to his feet as well.  
"Don't call me that. That's not my name." Rade said harshly.  
"Well, it is on your birth certificate. Now we're having dinner with your  
grand-parents at six-thirty, ten minutes from now. I want you to be polite  
and stop being so sullen." He ordered.  
"If I do, it'll be my own choice. I'll react to things the way they  
should be reacted to." Rade retorted. "In the meantime, I'm almost seventeen  
years old and you treat me worse than you treat Annie."  
"Do not bring your sister into this. She has nothing to do with this  
conversation." Eric snapped.  
"She has a lot to do with it. I'm tired of being treated like I'm five  
years old." Rade retorted.  
"Then stop acting like you're five years old." Eric returned.  
"Look who's talking!" Rade snapped and stormed out of the room. Eric ran  
out after her but she was a young, limber teenager and was already halfway  
down the hallway just as he reached the door. He watched her turn down the  
stairs, her secret service agent right behind her. He cursed and kicked the  
doorframe before looking back at his daughter's room. He walked to the stereo  
and pressed play again, immediately starting the music.  
*They're saying, momma never loved her much*  
*And daddy never keeps in touch*  
*That's why she shies away from human affection*  
*But somewhere in a private place*  
*She packs her bags for outer space*  
*Now she's waiting for the right kind of pilot to come*  
*(and she'll say to him) She's saying*  
*I'm flying to the moon and back if you'll be*  
*If you'll be my baby*  
*Gotta ticket for a world where we belong*  
*So would you be my baby*

Eric sighed and sat on the bed. He grabbed Rade's summer reading book and  
flipped through it. It was a collection of essays by some woman he'd never  
heard of before she'd gotten the assignment. He heard a soft click and looked  
up to see his wife standing in the doorway with a tired but mournful look on  
her face. He smiled weakly at her as she moved to sit next to him on the bed.  
*She can't remember a time*  
*When she felt needed*  
*If love was red then she was colour-blind*  
*All her friends they've been tried for treason*  
*And crimes that were never defined*  
*She's saying*  
*Love is like a barren place*  
*And reaching out for human faith is*  
*Is like a journey I just don't have a map for*  
*So baby gonna take a dive and push the shift to overdrive*  
*Send a signal that she's hanging all her hopes on the stars*

Liz got up and walked to the stereo to switch off. Eric realized that the  
song hurt her somehow, probably because the words somehow reflected the  
emotional distance they had with their daughter. Would Annie be the same way?  
Would she cross the bridge into teenagerhood and just become some alienated  
rebellious individual? Rade used to be a playful, loving, energetic kid, just  
like Annie. Now it felt like everything was a struggle with her and nobody  
could win.  
"Let's go. It's time for dinner." Liz said softly and led the way out of  
the room. Eric put the book back on the bed and followed his wife.

TBC... .  
Feedback? Comments? Plllleeeaassseeeee? It's like I'm a fairy... I need you  
to clap for Batman!!!

~D.C.  
Batman


	5. Through the Cracks 5

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however.  
NOTES: I still don't know if this is gonna become a series or not. Depends on  
how y'all react to it.  
ALSO: "Run" Is a song of Collective Soul, it is not mine. "Lay Down Beside  
Me" is a Backstreet Boys song, please don't shoot me, and also does not  
belong to me.

Rade kicked a rock as she walked around the perimeter of the White House.  
It was seven o'clock, by her watch and she was starting to get a little  
hungry. No one was surprised when she didn't show up for dinner, so no one  
called Thickneck to check on her. She didn't care. She was the forgotten  
child anyway and she was so angry at her father that she knew she couldn't  
sit still at a dinner table for too long before yelling at him for some  
stupid reason like his not passing the salt or something. She looked around  
the place, at ease in the outdoors of Washington D.C. Thickneck followed her  
from a short distance, but at least he gave her more space than anyone else  
did.  
"Hey, thickneck, what's your name?" She asked as she faced the agent. He  
paused and stared at her blankly.  
"I do not have a thick neck." He retorted. "Do I?"  
"No, I guess not. I think it's just my word for bodyguard or something.  
Do you even have a name?" She asked again.  
"My name is Ellis." The man replied stiffly.  
"Right. Ellis Thickneck. Got it." She murmured before looking back to her  
walk. Ellis followed her, shaking his head at her eccentricities. She sighed  
and began to hum softly as she looked around, trying to gather her thoughts  
and realize what it was that she wanted from the world. She hummed a little  
louder trying to remember the words of the song that was stuck in her head.  
*Are these times contagious?*  
*I've never been this bored before*  
*Is this the prize I've waited for?*  
The words began to ring in her head as she remembered. She stepped out on  
to the lawn a little further, tempted to get away from the White House and  
reassured and annoyed by the fact that Ellis Thickneck was right behind her.  
*Now as the hours passing*  
*There's nothing left here to insure*  
*I long to find a messenger*  
*Have I got a long way to run?*  
*Yeah, I run*  
"Miss Knox, I don't think we should go too far away from the White  
House." Ellis called. Rade waved him off and kept walking.  
"I want to get as far away from it as I can, and since I can't do that,  
I'm gonna walk for a bit. Is that okay, Ellis?" She called back, not really  
expecting an answer. Whatever it was, she was going to ignore it.  
*Is there a cure among us*  
*From this processed sanity?*  
*I weaken with each voice that sings*  
*In this world of purchase*  
*I'm going to buy back memories*  
*To awaken some old qualities*  
*Have I got a long way to run?*  
*Yeah, I run*

****************************  
Toby pulled the finished speech out of his printer and looked at it  
approvingly. He stepped past Sam's office and saw the younger man still  
sprawled out on the couch. He clicked his tongue and moved on, moving briskly  
through the hallways with a tune on the tip of his tongue. He didn't know  
what it was and he honestly didn't care. It was seven thirty and he wanted to  
go home. He turned a corner and slammed into a small person.  
"Why does everyone keep doing that to me?" Rade exclaimed bitterly as she  
got up and brushed off her dirty khakis. "Do I have a sign over my head that  
says 'collide with me around a corner'? Forget about the secret service, I  
need a walking stick to wave in front of me so people know I'm coming." She  
muttered before looking up at him. She smiled weakly and waved. "Hi Mr.  
Ziegler. You finish that speech?" She asked, slowly calming down.  
"Yeah, I was just about to drop it off with your grandfather's secretary  
and then hightail it away from this place." He replied.  
"Lucky you." She muttered. "You couldn't by any chance take me with you,  
could you?" She asked with a smirk.  
"I don't think so, Miss Knox." He answered her with a weak smile. "I  
thought you were at dinner with your family."  
"I thought about it, but then it occured to me that it wouldn't be a very  
good thing if tomorrow's headlines read 'Bartlet family killed by oldest  
granddaughter over roast turkey,' you know what I mean?" Rade replied weakly.  
"You're right. That would have made my job a lot harder." Toby admitted.  
"I can't say I haven't wanted to do the same thing myself from time to time,  
however." He added reassuringly.  
"Thanks, but I'm sure your beef was extended to the President only. I've  
got my parents to deal with too." Rade reminded him. He nodded.  
"Okay. Point taken." He retorted. "If you'll excuse me."  
"Of course. Wouldn't want to hold up your escape." Rade exclaimed and  
moved out of his way. Toby started down the hall and then stopped. He looked  
back to see Rade talking to her secret service agent and then looked towards  
the Oval office, and then back again.  
"Miss Knox." He called, walking back towards her. She looked at him and  
smirked a little.

*********************************  
Eric kicked his shoes off and then looked at his beautiful wife as she  
closed the curtains in their room. Their daughter didn't show up for dinner,  
and no one was surprised. The way she'd been acting lately, Eric was actually  
pleased. Things were a little uncomfortable at first, but the conversation  
got started and soon it was as if they'd planned Rade's absence. Liz and  
Zoey's sister wasn't going to arrive until the next day, if she arrived all  
given some of the trouble she was going through with her small business in  
New Hampshire. She was something of a workaholic, like her father, and didn't  
believe in holidays, unlike her family.  
But now Eric really didn't care about Liz's sister. He was concerned  
about Rade. It was hard enough to have your father-in-law be the President of  
the United States. It meant having to be careful what happens in your life so  
that things don't go wrong for him. With Rade, it seemed she didn't care what  
the consequences of her actions were. He sighed and lay backwards down on the  
bed, just staring at the ceiling much the same way he'd found Rade earlier  
that day.  
"Sweetie, you need to relax. This is a vacation, not a political  
campaign." Liz said softly as she sat down on the bed next to him. He sat up  
and slipped his arms around her.  
"I know. I just wish it wasn't such a struggle. I wish kids would just  
say 'yes, daddy' and that's the end of it." He muttered. She smiled and moved  
behind him to massage his shoulders. He groaned a little and relaxed into her.  
"That would be way too easy, now wouldn't it?" Liz said softly as she  
pressed into his taut muscles.  
"Yes, but easy isn't always bad." He muttered. She laughed and got up,  
causing him to whimper. "I liked that." He said with a puppy dog pout. She  
laughed again and moved to press play on their stereo.  
"Come dance with me, sexy." She murmured as she stood before him in her  
silk white nightgown. He grinned and moved to dance with her, taking her in  
his arms and swaying to the music.  
*Something about the way you move*  
*That caught my eye*  
*I really did have to try it*  
*I can't deny it*  
*The way your body swings*  
*As I watched you from behind*  
*Got me so excited*  
*How could I fight it?*  
*Baby let me be the one to hold you*  
*To give you the things I know you miss*  
*You know that we could wait another lifetime*  
*We could never find a love just like this*

"You know, I'm a little worried." Abbey exclaimed as she walked out of  
the bathroom towards her husband. Jed looked at her in confusion. "About  
Rade. She didn't come to dinner tonight and Eric really didn't seem to care.  
Do you think they're having trouble?"  
"Rade? Having trouble with someone? God forbid." Jed said dryly as he  
pulled back the covers and then moved to take his wife in his arms. She  
smiled at him as she slipped her arms around his neck and let him hold her.  
"You really have to give that girl a break." She murmured as he kissed  
her neck gently. "After all, we know she gets those genes from you." She  
added. Jed looked her in the eye and grinned.  
"You're asking for it, Dr. Bartlet." He whispered before kissing her  
fiercely. To his joy, she kissed him back as he pulled her back towards the  
bed.  
*If you lay down  
*Lay down beside me*  
*You might wake up beside me*  
*Forever and ever*

  


TBC... .  
Feedback? Comments? Pwease?

~D.C.  
Batman

  


	6. Through the Cracks 6

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however.  
NOTES: I still don't know if this is gonna become a series or not. Depends on  
how y'all react to it.  
ALSO: "Freak on a leash" is a song of Korn's and not mine; "Star Spangled  
Banner" Is a work of... some guy, I know, I learned in History class, but  
I can't think of him, and I gotta give credit to Jimi Hendrix. In any case,  
it's not mine.

"Where the hell is my daughter?" Eric Knox screeched into Ron  
Butterfield's ear. Ron winced and gently pushed the man away before pulling  
out a hankerchief and wiping Eric's spit off of his face.  
"I'm not at liberty to tell you, sir. Your daughter requested that her  
presence not be disclosed." He replied before looking in the direction of the  
door as Jed Bartlet stormed into the room with his wife slowly trailing  
behind.  
"What the hell is going on here, Ron? Where's Rade?" The President  
snapped. Ron found himself closely pinned between two angry patriarchs and it  
didn't strike him as a wonderful thing.  
"Sir, the duty of a secret service agent is to protect their assignments  
and to honor their wishes. Agent Jackson told us that your granddaughter is  
safe and happy, but that she does not wish to make her whereabouts known."  
Ron informed his boss. "Rest assured she'll be back before eleven thirty and  
there will be no damage done. Beyond that, I don't have any answers for you."  
"Are you seriously going to let him get away with that?" Liz asked in  
near hysterics. Jed sighed and looked mournfully at his daughter.  
"I'm afraid I have to. They have rules, sweetie." He said softly. "We'll  
just have to take his word for it that she's okay."  
"I'm gonna kill that kid." Eric muttered.  
"You'll do no such thing, Eric." Liz snapped.  
"I wasn't serious, sweetie. I would never kill her nor anyone else." Eric  
replied sharply, angry that she actually believed he would do anything to his  
own daughter. Liz sighed and collapsed into the couch.  
"She's going to be back for the picnic. That's what matters. In the  
meantime, she's okay and probably having the time of her life far away from  
us." Abbey exclaimed as she sat next to her daughter.  
"I swear, that kid is trying to give me a heart attack." Eric muttered.  
Just then, Ron leaned forward and listened to the device in his ear.  
"Sir, Captain has returned to the Cottage." He said weakly.  
"Where is she??" Jed snapped.  
"The West Wing, sir."

********************************  
"I still think you should change the first line of the third paragraph."  
Rade exclaimed as she walked with Toby down the hall. He shook his head and  
turned another corner towards his office.  
"No, because the first line establishes the subject for the next four  
paragraphs. There's no reasonable way to change it." He retorted.  
"Well, instead of 'as I look out blah blah blah' how about 'looking out,  
I see these faces' or something. You did the 'as I look out' thing before.  
With fishermen or something." Rade pointed out. Toby stopped and looked at  
her.  
"How did you know that?" He asked.  
"Well, just because I'm a rebellious brat doesn't mean I don't pay  
attention to the things my granddad does. Besides, wasn't he indoors? He said  
'as I look out across this magnificent vista'... He was indoors, Toby."  
She teased. "I don't think hundreds of old, fat fishermen constitutes a  
magnificent vista."  
"Okay, let me first point out that that was Sam's mistake, not mine--"  
Toby started, but Rade was chuckling as she remembered.  
"And what about the time he started talking about guns and stuff, shouted  
'kids are dead, kids are dead' and then the band started playing 'Happy Days  
are Here Again'? That was downright weird." She said, nearly cracking up.  
Toby just rolled his eyes with a grin and started walking for his office  
again.  
"I'm not even going to bother with you." He said repressing laughter.  
"And then there's the one when he was campaigning and he said 'I'm gonna  
support this country and we'll make things right' and then ne nearly fell off  
the stage? That was just hilarious. This country's not the only thing that  
needs support, nai?" Rade asked with a laugh before feeling a hand clamp on  
her shoulder. She whipped around to meet the gaze of her angry grandfather.  
She gulped and smiled weakly. "Um, hi, granddad."  
"Where the hell have you been?" He snapped. "You've been gone since six  
yesterday!" He added looking at his watch. "That's nearly 16 hours."  
"Relax! I had to get away for a while. I'm surrounding by screeching  
adults, thicknecked secret service agents, fat reporters, lovey-dovey couples  
in denial and whining sisters." Rade replied slowly. "I'm sorry that I didn't  
tell you where I went, but I figured that a) if I had asked for permission,  
you wouldn't have given it and b) Ellis was with me so I was safe."  
"Where *did* you go?" Jed asked, a little more calmly this time.  
"Um, sir, if I may intervene, she was with me." Toby's soft voice  
interrupted the silence. Jed looked at his communications director in shock  
and then back at his granddaughter who was smiling weakly.  
"With you?" He asked looking at Toby. Rade nodded. "Toby, isn't she a  
little young?" Jed added as he looked back and forth between them.  
"Granddad!" Rade exclaimed with a grin on her face.  
"Sir, it was nothing like that." Toby insisted.  
"Matter of fact he's never even touched me. I haven't gotten a handshake  
out of him." Rade added. "Truth is I don't like it when people touch me  
anyway."  
"You went to his house?" Jed tried to clarified, confused out of his mind.  
"No." Rade replied.  
"I live in a condo, sir." Toby added.  
"Oh, well, my mistake. What the hell is going on here??" Jed snapped. "I  
think I've really lost it." He muttered.  
"Jed, honey, what are you ranting about? Oh, Rade, honey, there you are.  
I was worried about you." Abbey exclaimed as she took Rade into a tight hug.  
Surprised, Rade hugged back weakly, still not crazy about being touched, but  
reciprocating anyway. Abbey smiled and took a step back to look her husband  
in the eye. "Now what's the matter?"  
"Rade spent the night at Toby's." Jed exclaimed.  
"Toby, isn't she a little young for you?" Abbey said in a tone much more  
playful than the president's. Toby smiled weakly.  
"Well, I've been trying to loosen up, ma'am." He replied.  
"Oh, my God! Toby!" Rade exclaimed with laughter. Abbey chuckled and  
nodded.  
"Just watch it. I'll get the secret service on your butt." She added.  
Toby grinned and held up his hands in surrender.  
"Anything but that." He said in a mock plea. Jed growled.  
"Have you all gone nuts???" He snapped. "My god!"  
"Jed, calm down before you have a stroke. It's almost eleven and we have  
to start getting ready for the picnic. Nice, fun, happy family picnic,  
remember?" Abbey exclaimed. Jed sighed and nodded.  
"Sir, if I may take this moment to just give you this." Toby said meekly  
as he handed the banquet speech to his boss. Jed took and looked it over.  
"And I'd like to add Rade helped out."  
"A sixteen-year-old helped write the President's fourth of July address?"  
Jed asked slowly. Toby paused and then stood up straight.  
"Yes, sir." He said sharply, almost proudly. Rade smirked at him and then  
looked at her grandfather only to meet a pair of eyes that were still kind of  
pissed.  
"I'm gonna go up to my room and change for the picnic. Lord knows, with  
how mad you are, my dad probably is fuming like World War III." She murmured.  
"Bye Toby. Thanks again. Bye grandmom." She added before disappearing down  
the hallway, Ellis right behind her.  
"Toby, stay out of my way today." Jed grumbled as he moved towards the  
Oval office. Toby looked helplessly at Abbey and sighed.  
"She said she needed to get away from this place, Mrs. Bartlet. I know  
what that feels like." He started but Abbey waved her hands.  
"Toby, she was smiling when I walked in. I attribute that to you and I'm  
ecstatic that someone got her to open up. I wish we had known where she was,  
but she made that choice, and she's back here, safe and sound, so I'm not mad  
at you. Thank you for making her happy, even if my bull-headed husband had to  
go and ruin it." Abbey interrupted with a kind tone. "They've never gotten  
along, but by God, I've got to fix that." Toby smiled and nodded.  
"She's really a good writer, by the way." He said softly. "Better than  
Sam."  
"Who's better than me?" Sam asked in an almost whine as he walked up to  
them. Abbey laughed and walked off. Toby just smiled at Sam and disappeared  
into his office. Sam looked around and then moved into Toby's office. Abbey  
heard down the hallway as the young man asked again "Who's better than me?"  
She laughed and turned towards the residence.

**************************  
Rade opened the door to her guest room and peered around. She moved in  
and headed for her luggage bag. As the door closed behind her, she heard open  
again as her father barged into the room. She spun around just in time to  
jump out of his warpath.  
"Whoa! Dad on the rampage!" She exclaimed as she moved behind the  
armchair Eric spun and looked at her as his wife moved into the room.  
"What the hell were you thinking? You went to some stranger's condo?" He  
exclaimed loudly. Rade winced.  
"Um, to be honest, he wasn't a stranger. I was introduced to him in the  
Oval office and saw him on two more occasions. Ellis was with me and when you  
think about it, this stranger happens to be one of the guys that granddad  
trusts the most, so I think you can calm down just a little." Rade replied  
carefully as she kept an eye on her angry father.  
"You should have told us where you were going." Liz said softly.  
"You mean you cared? You know, Ellis told me that he didn't hear anything  
from you since yesterday and I had seen you after that. I vaguely remember  
you yelling at me, dad." Rade reminded him. "I didn't anything wrong. If  
anything I had fun for a change. Now if you don't mind, I have to take a  
shower and change for the picnic, something I don't need an audience for. You  
don't want me stinking up the White House lawn in clothes that I've been  
wearing for nearly 36 hours now, do you?" She snapped. Eric sighed.  
"I'm not done with you. You'd better behave today." He exclaimed angrily.  
"Eric, come on." Liz said softly. Rade looked at her mom appreciatively  
but got a cold look in return. She sighed.  
"I'm sorry, guys. You're right, I should have told you. I just felt so  
trapped, you know?" Rade exclaimed softly. Eric looked at the ground and  
nodded.  
"Okay. We were just worried about you. I'll see you when you come out."  
He said softly before leaving the room. Rade looked at her mom again, a  
hopeful look on her face, but she got nothing back as her mother followed her  
father and closed the door behind her. Rade looked at her bag and then  
collapsed into her armchair, crying softly. She shook her head and went to  
the stereo to drown out her thoughts as she got ready for her shower.  
*Something takes a part of me*  
*Something lost and never seen*  
*Everytime I start to believe*  
*Something's raped and taken from me, from me*  
*Life's got to always be messing with me (You wanna see the light)  
*Can't they chill and let me be free? (So do I)*  
*Can't I take away all this pain (You wanna see the light)*  
*I try to every night, all in vain... in vain*

Rade continued to cry as she took off her overshirt and grabbed a change  
of clothes. She turned up the volume and walked into the bathroom, letting  
the music play loud enough so that she could hear it through the water  
pouring down over her head. She tried to calm herself, tried to let the water  
sooth her muscles as she tried to regain control, but everything was just  
falling into place. And she was just slipping through the cracks in the  
sidewalks.  
*Sometimes I cannot take this place*  
*Sometimes it's my life I can't taste*  
*Sometimes I cannot feel my face*  
*You'll never see me fall from grace*

***********************  
The White House Lawn was loud and boisterous as the picnic began.  
Reporters sat in their designated areas, scribbling madly as Jed Bartlet  
welcomed people to the party and laughed with them. The sun was up, but the  
temperature was a nice 78 degrees, slightly warm. His second-oldest daughter  
still had not arrived, but his family was still enjoying themselves. Zoey was  
happy playing with Charlie and Annie. Eric and Liz laughed together as they  
sat on the lawn and pressed food into each other's mouths. Jed and Abbey  
welcomed guests and made small talk with the various west wing staffers.  
Leo McGarry watched everything happen with soft eyes. He saw his daughter  
laughing with Sam Seaborn and smiled. She was happy and that was all that  
mattered. He wasn't exactly thrilled when he learned of Sam and Mal being  
together, but there were worse choices she could make. In the long run, Sam  
was a good choice. She could make worse ones. Leo had realized that his  
problem wasn't with Sam but rather with Mal going out with *any* male. Leo  
moved his sight again and saw his best friend kissing the first lady very  
tenderly. He saw Josh standing at the refreshment table, pretending to listen  
to Toby rant while watching Donna with a guy named Ike Morgan. Behind the  
punch table, a bandstand was set up and Leo could see Rade talking to the  
sound mixer, pointing to the amplifiers. Leo chuckled and walked to the punch  
table.  
"Heard you got into some trouble." Leo said to Toby. Toby looked at him  
and shrugged.  
"The First lady assured me that there was no such thing." He replied.  
"You know, sunlight is very pretty." Josh murmured as he watched the sun  
reflect off of Donna's golden hair.  
"Get over yourself." Leo exclaimed. Josh looked at him.  
"What do you mean?" He asked.  
"Go over and talk to her and the Elvis-wannabe." Toby interpreted,  
pointing to Donna and Morgan, who indeed resembles an Elvis impersonator with  
slicked back black hair and long sideburns. Josh looked where Toby was  
pointing and then back. He scoffed lightly.  
"Nah, no reason. I shouldn't bother her." He exclaimed. "She's got a  
date."  
"I happen to know for a fact that he's her cousin." Toby pointed out.  
"Really?" Josh exclaimed eagerly.  
"Go over there." Toby and Leo chorused in unison. Josh jumped a little  
and nodded.  
"I'll bring them some punch." He said softly before gathering some full  
cups and carrying them over. Toby looked back at Leo.  
"Thank God. Thought he'd never leave me alone." He muttered.  
"You finish the President's speech?" Leo asked.  
"Yeah, last night." Toby replied.  
"Can I see it?"  
"The President said not to show it to anyone. After he read it though.  
Seems he liked it." Toby said softly. Leo raised an eyebrow and opened his  
mouth to respond when the sound of rock music filled the ears of everyone at  
the picnic. Everyone looked to the bandstand where the band stood playing  
their instruments. But the sight that everyone enjoyed the most was the  
President's granddaughter standing on stage, wearing blue jeans, a white  
t-shirt and a red overshirt as she played the guitar to a hyped-up version of  
the Star Spangled Banner.  
"Look at that. A regular Jimi Hendrix." Jed muttered. Abbey was the only  
one who heard him and smiled.  
"See, she's not so bad." She told him softly as the lead singer of the  
band smiled at Rade and then stepped forward to the microphone as he noticed  
that they had the crowd's attention.  
*O say can you see, by the dawn's early light*  
*What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?*  
*Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight*  
*O're the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?*  
*And the rockers' red glare, the bombs bursting in air*  
*Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there*  
*O say, does that star spangled banner yet wave*  
*O're the land of the free and the home of the brave?*

During the song, Rade was given a few fantastically done solos as she  
elaborated on the chords of the traditional song. The singer finished with a  
flourish and the music died out. The crowd applauded as Rade finished the  
music and looked out among them. She made eye contact with her grandfather  
and nodded to him before nodding to the lead singer.  
"Thank you everyone. Let's have a good picnic." The singer said in the  
microphone and then shook hands with Rade. She handed him the guitar and  
climbed off the stage, met with a few people who congratulated her and  
commended her on her musical talents. She thanked them and smiled politely,  
but went nowhere near her parents or grandparents. Instead she disappeared  
into the crowd, and before he knew it, Jed had lost sight of her.

TBC... .  
Feedback? Comments? Please????? Batman needs support! Especially after  
"Batman and Robin"!!!!!!!!!!! :) Sorry, had to. :)

~D.C.  
Batman

  


	7. Through the Cracks 7

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however. Thanks Dallas for letting me borrow MA  
briefly.  
NOTES: I still don't know if this is gonna become a series or not. Depends on  
how y'all react to it.  
ALSO: No song in this one. Sorry. Hehehe.

The picnic went smoothly without any mishaps, as Eric had thought there  
was going to be. He'd seen Rade every once in a while from a distance but he  
hadn't had a chance to talk to her. Chatting with his father-in-law, he  
learned that Rade hadn't talked to any member of her family since getting off  
stage. Annie and Zoey mentioned that she'd stop to play tag with them, and  
they also discovered that she'd eaten lunch with Toby, Sam and Mallory while  
talking about the blunders of the Bartlet administration. Aparently Rade  
nearly choked as they recalled the secret plan to fight inflation.  
Now it was going on three o'clock and Rade was nowhere to be found. Annie  
was begging for a tour of Washington, including the Lincoln Memorial and the  
Washington Monument. Zoey was tired and she wanted to spend some time with  
Charlie, so Eric agreed to take her. Liz agreed to come too but she wanted to  
find Rade and talk to her first. No one could find the sullen teenager so the  
Knoxs left and promised to be back before five thirty so that they could get  
ready for the banquet.  
Jed didn't know what to say to his granddaughter. He was confused by the  
look he saw in her eyes when she'd finished her song earlier that day on  
stage. It was almost as if her eyes were telling him everything she'd spent  
her life trying to scream at the top of her lungs. She just wanted them to be  
proud of her. That was it. And Jed realized that he'd never told her how he  
really felt. He was always telling her what he was angry with her about, what  
she'd done wrong and it now occurred to him that he never told her what she  
did right.  
Abbey Bartlet wasn't going to give up so easily. She got word that  
"Captain" was still on White House grounds, so she took the time to grab her  
mysterious envelope and went searching for her. She gave up after nearly a  
half an hour and then went back to her own office. She walked in to see Rade  
sitting at her desk playing with a fancy pen she'd gotten from the Indian  
Ambassador during Jed's first year in the White House.  
"If you break that thing, I'm gonna have a hard time getting another  
one." Abbey declared as she closed the door behind her.  
"You know, it occurs to me that I've never really talked to anyone. I've  
talked to Jake a lot, but he's not someone who can do anything about any of  
this." Rade said softly without looking at her grandmother. "And I wonder if  
the reason I don't talk is because I know no one is listening." Abbey  
shrugged lightly and moved to sit on her couch, motioning for Rade to join  
her. Rade put the pen down and moved to sit where Abbey had motioned.  
"Sweetie, do you want to talk to me?" Abbey asked softly as she gently  
stroked Rade's hair. Rade leaned into the first lady tentatively, almost  
cautiously and then tried to relax.  
"I want to know how." She whispered. "Today when I was on stage, I was  
playing the guitar and everyone was looking at me, but more importantly, they  
were *listening* to me. I saw granddad watching me and I saw in his eyes  
something that I'd never seen before."  
"What was it?" Abbey asked softly, surprised that her granddaugter was  
opening up, but not at all willing to discourage it.  
"Pride." Rade said softly as she stared out into space. Abbey repressed a  
sob and pulled Rade closer so that she could feel like she was really there  
for her.  
"Your grandfather is very proud of you and so am I and so are your  
parents." She said softly. Rade shook her head and sat up to look at Abbey  
directly.  
"But it's always about what I've done wrong, isn't it? I'm just trying to  
be who I feel I am and I get these looks from granddad and my parents that  
burns through to my soul and I feel like I'm this waste of life." She said  
weakly as her eyes started to brim. "I don't know what to do to make the  
looks stop."  
"You can't read their minds, sweetie." Abbey started.  
"But I can read how they make me feel." Rade interjected.  
"They don't know that's how they make you feel, Rade. They don't know.  
You've never told them." Came the reply. Rade paused and then nodded.  
"I think I took a step today. Somehow I think we did read each other's  
minds. Me and granddad." She said softly. Abbey smiled and then fished out  
the envelope and handing it to her granddaughter. "What's this?" Rade asked  
as she took it.  
"I was working on this thing a few months ago and this came on my desk. I  
thought you might be interested in it." Abbey exclaimed. Rade frowned and  
opened the envelope to find a fold piece of paper. She smiled weakly as she  
saw the signature on the bottom of the page.  
"This is unreal. I mean, this isn't real, is it?" Rade asked as her voice  
raised an octave. Abbey laughed and leaned forward.  
"Yes, it's real. I was working on this fundraiser for the fight against  
Child Labor and this guy named Rob Thomas offered to play a set for the  
night. I recognized the name and asked if he wouldn't mind writing some words  
of wisdom for my grand-daughter. That's what he wrote." Abbey replied as she  
leaned forward. Rade read the letter repeatedly before hugging her  
grandmother.  
"Thank you so much. This is soooo cool." Rade exclaimed. Abbey laughed  
and hugged her back.  
"It's special, just like you, kid." She said softly. "Now, it's getting  
on four o'clock. What do you want to do for the next two hours?" Rade shook  
her head.  
"I have no idea. Any suggestions?"  
"Well, we can think of something."

************************************  
Joss looked around the noisy room. People were finding their seats as  
they got ready for the banquet and things were generally consistent with that  
of chaos. He rose to his feet and like clockwork, everyone closed their  
mouths and took their seats in the right places. He stood at a small podium  
and looked out along the many heads among the crowd and then glanced at the  
teleprompter before looking out and meeting their gazes.  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, those of you who are present here today and those  
who may be listening from somewhere else far away, I hope you have enjoyed  
your Independence day so far. I can see many familiar faces tonight and it  
overjoys me to spend time with my family. Today has been a good day for me.  
The history of today's holiday is a powerful one. Today commemorates the day  
that many of the powerful leaders of our nation got together and declared in  
one voice that that the United States of America would stand as one nation  
under all. One of those men was my great-grandfather's great-grandfather, and  
my namesake, Dr. Josiah Bartlet. I'm proud of that history my family has. I  
feel like that his role in history connects me with this holiday. It's my  
proudest achievement is being the President of this country that my ancestors  
worked so hard to craft and build.  
"Looking out across this crowd, I can see my friends and co-workers from  
the past two years. I see a few people that I've fought with from time to  
time. No hard feelings, guys." He said with a charismatic grin. Many people  
laughed lightly and nodded. "You know, my daughter Marielle couldn't be here  
with us tonight. She's spending the evening with her friends from her office  
in New Hampshire. Hi, sweetie. But my daughter Zoey is here tonight, free  
from school for a few days. And my daughter Elizabeth is here with her  
daughters and her husband. They're sitting to the left of me here." He  
exclaimed as he gestured to his family. Annie waved eagerly before Eric  
smiled at her and placed a hand on her arm. People chuckled and refocused on  
the President. Jed looked at the teleprompter and then down at his hands.  
Toby groaned as he realized that the polishing was approaching and looked  
around for a salad fork.  
"Today, I stood on the White House lawn and watched my oldest daughter  
laugh with my husband as they fed each other. I watched my youngest daughter  
play with her boyfriend and my youngest granddaughter. I watched my teenage  
granddaughter play the star-spangled-banner on an electric guitar in such a  
way it brought back memories of watching Jimi Hendrix play the same song.  
When the song ended, I watched her and our eyes connected across the crowd  
and I learned more about my granddaughter than I'd ever known before." Jed  
said before looking at Rade and meeting her eyes once again. "And I  
realized," He added as he looked back out at the many people watching him. "I  
realized that the truth behind holidays and national freedom and togetherness  
and history is all summed in one word: Future. We remember the past to  
celebrate the future. I am Dr. Josiah Bartlet's future. And Rade and Annie  
Knox are my future. We celebrate July 4th, Independence Day, not only to  
remember the struggle of the soldiers in the Revolutionary war, but to  
celebrate the future that they envisioned for their children. We celebrate it  
to celebrate our families and the future that they hold for us. Today I stand  
before you not as the President of the United States, but as the  
great-grandson of the great-grandson of a man who believed in the power of  
the future, and I stand before you not as your commander-in-chief, but as the  
proud father and the very proud grandfather," He said looking at Rade again  
briefly before glancing at the crowd. "Of this nation's beautiful future.  
Ladies and gentlemen, enjoy your evening and your holiday. Let's eat." He  
finished with a weak smile, trying not to let the tears show. The whole room  
got to their feet with applause, even Toby, who stood with tears in his eyes  
and he himself perhaps clapped the loudest. Jed looked to his family again  
and saw Rade on her feet clapping solidly, also with tears in her eyes. Abbey  
hugged her husband before sitting down again and letting the meal begin.

TBC... .  
Feedback? Comments? Please?????

~D.C.  
Batman

  


	8. Through the Cracks 8

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however.  
NOTES: I still don't know if this is gonna become a series or not. Depends on  
how y'all react to it.  
ALSO: "Affirmation" belongs to Savage Garden and is not mine in any way.

The evening felt like a long one. Rade didn't talk hardly the whole time.  
She was polite and had a smile on her face, but anyone who knew her knew that  
something was still wrong. Jed's speech had touched her, but it had inspired  
something in her things that she didn't understand, and the last thing she  
needed was another thing that she didn't understand. The food was served and  
eaten and then people got to their feet to mingle before the fireworks  
started at ten. To Jed's dismay, Rade disappeared again, but Abbey patted him  
on the back and told him everything would be okay. Jed didn't know how she  
knew, but he trusted her to know everything, so he tried to relax.  
Roughly thirty minutes later, the group of politicians and family members  
and innocent workers were standing around the room as people talked and  
laughed and chattered. It was nine o'clock and they had a half hour to kill  
before they were whisked back out on the lawn. Music was being played for  
those who dared to dance in front of watchful eyes. Charlie and Zoey were a  
perfect match on the dance floor and even the President and the First Lady  
showed they still knew how to cut a rug. A break was taken as they began to  
chatter again and then a soft melody filled the room. The melody developed a  
beat as a drummer joined in and all eyes in the room went back to the band on  
stage as the music picked up tempo. Light applause filled the room as Rade  
appeared. She smiled weakly and took the mike in her hand, her eyes blinking  
across the room before meeting her father's. The look in his eyes gave her  
the courage to say the first lines.  
*I believe the sun should never set upon an argument*  
She sang directly to her father.  
*I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands*  
*I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you*  
*I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do*  
A nod to her parents as her eyes brimmed.  
*I believe that beauty magazines promote low self-esteem(self-esteem)*  
A smile as she wagged her finger playfully to her younger sister.  
Annie giggled and nodded.  
*I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone*  
*I believe in karma, what you give is what you get returned*  
Rade pointed to herself, a message to those she loved.  
*I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned*  
Leo looked across the room and saw Jenny standing next to the drink  
table, watching the Bartlet granddaughter. He sighed and looked at his  
daughter he was standing in the arms of Sam Seaborn, and he smiled.  
*I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side*  
*I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye*  
As Leo looked away, Jenny's eyes floated across the room and rested  
on him for only a second before following his gaze to their daughter.  
*I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality*  
*I believe that trust is more important than monagamy*  
*I believe you're most attractive features are your heart and soul*  
*I believe that family is worth more than money or gold*  
Rade pointed to her grandfather. He smiled and hugged his wife  
tighter as his heart swelled.  
*I believe the struggle for financial freedom isn't fair*  
*I believe the only ones who disagree are millionaires*

Toby laughed quietly as Rade grinned with the last line and gestured  
playfully to the people around the room. As Rade sang the chorus again, Jed  
realized how much the song meant to his family. It was all about karma and  
family and knowing what you've got while you had it. Rade was trying to tell  
him something. She'd been trying to tell it to him all along. She still  
wasn't happy. Not after the thoughts they'd exchanged at the picnic, or the  
speech he made, and this song here now wasn't going to solve their problems  
either. He snapped bac k to reality as the music seemed to swerve in tempo  
and come back up.  
*I believe forgiveness is the key to your unhappiness*  
Rade looked like she'd cry any minute, but she was holding her own.  
*I believe that wedded bliss negates the need to be undressed*  
She winked at Abbey who laughed.  
*I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists*  
She pointed to the sky as people chuckled.  
*I believe in love surviving death into eternity*  
She nodded to Jed as she finished the line and swung back into the  
chorus with such energy the likes of which he'd never seen pour out of  
her before.  
*I believe in Karma, what you give is what you get returned*  
*I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned*  
*I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side*  
*I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye*

The crowd broke out into applause as Rade finished the song. She  
closed her mouth and took a deep breath. The applause continued as Rade shook  
the hand of the band leader, thanked him softly and got off the stage. As she  
got off, she walked up to her father and found herself being taken into a  
bear hug. She hugged him back and tried not to cry. As her father let go, she  
found herself being taken in by her mother, and the process repeated three  
times more as Annie appeared to hug her sister, Abbey smiled at her before  
grasping her tightly and then Rade found herself standing in front of her  
grandfather who had tears in his eyes.  
"Who taught you to sing like that?" He asked weakly. She smiled and  
shrugged, caught up in her emotions. He pulled her to him and hugged tightly.  
Looking around the room, he saw Toby smile and nod, Leo chuckle a little, his  
wife grin and mouth the words 'I love you' and many politicians smiling  
warm-heartedly. Jed chuckled as he thought of what an oxymoron that made.  
"You're a good kid, Rade." He added softly as he looked her in the eye.  
"It runs in the family, granddad." She replied softly. He nodded.  
"Come on. Let's go see some fireworks." He announced loudly. The room  
cheered and made way for the outdoors.

*******************************  
Leo stood in the background, several hundred yards away from the main  
assembly. The stars were out tonight, and they could actually be seen because  
everyone in the city had shut off their lights so they could see the  
fireworks. Leo loved to look at the stars. So far the night had been  
everything he'd expected it to be. It'd hurt him to see Jenny again and know  
she didn't want to talk to him. But he'd enjoyed Rade's musical  
entertainment, and the President's speech had been something of a surprise.  
Still, Leo felt no happier than he probably would have if he'd stayed home to  
stare at the sky.  
"You know, I didn't want to come here." A voice exclaimed to his right.  
He turned and looked at Rade as she approached him, trying to walk and look  
at the stars at the same time. "My parents dragged me. I told them I wouldn't  
get noticed and that I'd just slip through the cracks of a Presidential  
holiday. In a way I was right, but in other ways, I was wrong." She added  
before looking at him. "And you, sir, Uncle Leo, have been avoiding me, I  
think."  
"Not intentionally, kiddo." Leo exclaimed as he hugged Rade gently. She  
hugged him back and then pointed at the sky.  
"Orion is looking particularly bold tonight." She said softly.  
"Yeah. He's looking forward to the fireworks. He fears they're  
competition for him." Leo replied softly.  
"Why didn't you want to come here?" Rade asked. "Because of your troubles  
with Jenny?" Leo looked at her, a little surprised. But then he remembered  
that there were times when Rade had an uncanny sixth sense, one that only  
seemed to work with him.  
"Yeah." He admitted.  
"You know, I was thinking, and I realize that the reason I get so hostile  
with my grandfather is that I'm really angry at him for running for president  
and even angrier that he won." Rade said softly as she looked at Leo. He  
looked back. "I've never told anyone that before, but I'm telling you because  
I know it was your idea that he run." She explained.  
"Why does it make you angry? I should think you'd be happy for him." Leo  
asked.  
"Because no one talked it over with me first. No one made sure I was okay  
with it. I've always been Governor Bartlet's granddaughter and that was hard  
enough. Now I'm *President* Bartlet's granddaughter and my life is a living  
hell. I wish someone had just sat down and said 'Rade, this is what could  
happen; are you okay with that?' and maybe I would have said yes or maybe no,  
but I would have known." Rade explained as she looked up at the stars again.  
Leo listened carefully and started to realize that she was right. Not only  
should someone have done that with her, but he should have done that with  
Jenny. Maybe then they wouldn't have had the problems that split them apart.  
"You're right. Someone should have." He said softly. "But I think that in  
the long run, your granddad is going to do good. You heard him tonight. He  
believes in you. You're not invisible."  
"Anymore." Rade added before meeting his eyes. "All my life, Leo, I've  
felt invisible. I've felt like the one who just slips through the cracks in  
the sidewalk. Now you tell me. What am I?" She asked as a tear rolled down  
her cheek. He reached up and wiped it away.  
"You know, all *my* life I've been the second gunner. I put other people  
before me. I put Jed before myself. I put this country before my marriage.  
I'm not sorry with where I am now, but I'm not thrilled. Now *you* tell *me*:  
What am *I*?" He asked softly. Rade chuckled.  
"You're Leo McGarry, the kindest guy in the world. The guy who would  
sacrifice his own happiness just to keep his best friend happy by coming to  
some stupid picnic." She said softly with a smirk.  
"And you are Rade Bartlet Knox, a good, strong kid with pure intentions  
and a heart of gold. The kind of kid who would sacrifice her own happiness  
just to make her grandfather look good on national television." Leo replied,  
reciprocating the smirk. She laughed and nodded. He grinned and hugged her  
again. As she hugged him back, fireworks shot into the air and exploded into  
brilliant bursts of light and color. Rade looked up and pointed.  
"Orion's got his competition." She said softly. Leo nodded and stood  
there with her. Across the lawn, Jed pointed to the latest firework.  
"That one's aliminum." He called out.  
"Actually, sir, that was hydrogen." Toby corrected him.  
"Aliminum!"  
"Sir, it was hydrogen!"  
"Boys. Shut up and watch the fireworks."  
"Yes, dear."  
"Yes, Mrs. Bartlet."

TBC... ..  
Feeeedback?? Comments? Pleeease?

~D.C.  
Batman

  


	9. Through the Cracks 9

RATING: G so far  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, unfortunately. I'm just having some creative  
fun with them. Rade is mine however.  
NOTES: This is the end of the story, so now's the time you gotta let me know  
if I should turn this into a series or not. I got some ideas, but I gotta  
know. :)  
This is a short part. Just warning you. :)  
ALSO: "No Matter What" is a song of Boyzone, written by the wonderful Andrew  
Lloyd Webber for the film "Notting Hill" and therefore is not mine in three  
different ways.

  
"You've got everything?" Abbey asked as she poked around the guest room.  
Rade chuckled and shrugged.  
"If I don't, I'm sure you can FedEx whatever I've missed back to me." She  
pointed out as she zipped up her bag.  
"Or you could come back and get it." Jed retorted.  
"Or that. Might be fun." Rade replied with a smirk. Jed nodded and hugged  
her again. She laughed and hugged him back. She still didn't like to be  
touched by people, but the past few days, she'd been getting hugs en masse.  
As they parted, she looked at her grandparents and then at the floor. "You  
know, I think things might be different now. I'm not sure how, but they might  
be."  
"I know things are already different." Abbey exclaimed as she lifted  
Rade's chin up to eye level. Rade smiled and nodded.  
"They really are." She replied softly.  
"Rade, come on. Plane doesn't wait for us." Eric exclaimed before walking  
in the door. "Oh. Sorry." He said with a smirk. "Didn't realize you had a  
Presidential detain."  
"Yep, I got the power on my side now." Rade replied. Eric laughed and  
nodded, moving to grab her suitcase.  
"Well, take your time, as long as you two promise to give her back." He  
exclaimed. Rade smiled at the comment and nodded to Jed and Abbey. Things  
were going to be different now.

*********************************  
Rade sat down in her seat on the airplane and fished out her walkman and  
her book. The same flight attendant from the last flight saw her and moved  
over to say something when Rade raised her hands playfully.  
"Not until I hear the captain okay it. Don't worry." The teenager said  
kindly. The attendant smiled and nodded before moving back to her post. Rade  
smiled and started reading her book. The plane took off and the captain's  
voice came over the P.A. system.  
"This is your captain speaking. I'm now turning off the seat belt sign  
and telling the passenger in 7-A that she and all other passengers may use  
their walkman system if so desired. Captain out." The voice crackled. Annie  
giggled and poke her sister as Rade stared at the speaker in amazement. She  
looked at the flight attendant and nodded. The attendant nodded back, smiled  
and then went on with her job. Rade pressed play on the walkman and went back  
to reading. She stopped to listen to the words as she stared out at the sky  
again.  
*No matter what they tell us*  
*No matter what they do*  
*No matter what they teach us*  
*What we believe is true*  
*No matter what they call us*  
*However they attack*  
*No matter where they take us*  
*We'll find our own way back*  
*I can't deny what I believe*  
*I can't be what I'm not*  
*I'll know our love's forever*  
*I'll know no matter what*

Rade smiled as she watched the clouds and realized that her parents  
weren't bickering. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to come after all. Things  
could be different from now on. She smiled at Annie and went back to reading  
her book as the plane soared away into the clouds.

THE END...  
Well? Feedback? Comments? Should the Rade universe stay alive? Believe me I  
had no idea it would get this long. :) Batman neeeeeeds feedback! Pwease?  
Pwetty pwease?

~D.C.  
Batman


End file.
